How to wean a cat or a cat from dry food. How to wean a cat from dry food: useful tips How to wean a cat from dry food

Dry cat food is not a complete food and can lead to health problems for your pet. In addition, such food provokes food addiction, as a result of which the animal gets used to such food and begins to refuse normal food. Therefore, it is important to know how to wean a cat off dry food and replace it with natural products.

How to transfer a cat from Whiskas, Proplan, Kitiket to natural food

Whiskas is the most addictive in cats, so it will take a lot of time and patience of the owner of the animal to switch the cat to healthy food in this case. You can wean off Whiskas by gradually reducing the feed rate and replacing it with new, but useful products. This method is most suitable for feeding kittens.

To transfer an adult cat from Whiskas to homemade food, you need to put natural food in a bowl. Even if the animal does not want to try a new product, you should not despair - after a few days of fasting, the cat will still begin to eat healthy food. The main rule in this case is constantly fresh food in a bowl. only quality food!

Both methods are ideal for weaning kittens and adult animals from.

Important! It is not allowed to add natural products to this feed, as such nutrition overloads the animal's digestive system.

Any specialist will tell you that foods such as Kitiket or its equivalent can lead to various diseases in cats. To prevent this from happening, it is important to wean pets from their use.

To do this, you need to stop giving this food to cats altogether, and constantly put fresh food in the bowl, it is advisable to start with meat (you can try with boiled beef or liver). After a while, the pet will start eating it. After that, you can enter vegetable dishes, offal and cereals. Such methods help wean cats off other dry commercial foods.

In some cases, with severe addiction, the weaning process can last from one to two months. Therefore, do not despair, it is important to go towards the goal - and then the result will not keep you waiting. After all, the main task of the change is the health of the pet.

The main mistakes of owners when changing the type of diet of cats

The plaintive look of a pet is not a reason to pour Whiskas into a bowl.

When changing the nutrition of cats from dry food to natural products, the owners make a number of mistakes.

Here are the most common ones:

The transition from food to regular food takes a long time - from two to three weeks. Therefore, owners should be patient and in no case, using a certain method of weaning from food, do not follow the lead of their beloved animal, no matter how sorry it is, and no matter how much pain it experiences. This is especially true of the situation when the owner simply stopped feeding the cat with commercial food.
It is also important not to rush when changing the type of food. An abrupt transition can provoke health problems in a cat, for example.
No need to pamper the animal, replacing food with various delicacies.
You need to understand that the process of changing the diet for animals is a stressful situation. Therefore, you need to endure the "strike" and the pet's bad mood. It is necessary to show love and patience towards the cat. If the cat still tried a new product, it should be stroked and praised for it.

Important! A normal, healthy cat diet should contain about 45 percent meat products and animal protein, 20 percent each vegetables, cereals and offal. And only 5 percent is allocated to various supplements (bone meal, oil, vitamin and mineral complexes).

How to wean a cat from industrial feed: effective ways

It is easier for kittens to wean off dry food by offering them natural food.

You can teach a cat to normal food by the following methods:

Gradually reduce the amount of dry food. Experts advise putting two bowls first: one with natural food, and the other with dry food that the cat is used to. Every day it is recommended to reduce the amount of industrial food, reducing it to a minimum. It is possible that a pet that will not eat up will begin to try natural food.
Mixing normal food into the feed. The main principle of this method is consistency and gradualness. With each meal, natural products must be added to the feed, which over time will completely replace the feed.
Feeding your favorite food. If the animal, in addition to industrial food, likes a certain product, you can give it in larger quantities. Gradually, using this method, you can wean the cat from food and transfer to natural food. If the animal's preferences are not known, try putting several foods in separate bowls. Depending on what food the animal will be indifferent to, it is possible to determine what food can first replace the food.
Reversal of the effects of food additives. You need to understand that dry food has many additives that make your beloved pet “addicted” to such food. You can replace it, which does not have a strong smell and taste. First, it is added in a small amount to the cat’s usual food, then the proportions are increased and by the end of the week they are completely transferred to food without food additives, which will be easier to replace with homemade food.

Natural food is added to dry food when weaning a cat.

When mixing homemade food into the feed, it is advisable to use meat first (boiled and finely chopped), then vegetables. At the last stage of the diet change, you can start adding cereals (this can be done by the end of the second or third week).

The most radical way is to never feed industrial food to your cat again. Naturally, this will be very difficult, and at first the animal may stop eating altogether. But over time, the instinct of self-preservation will win - and the cat will begin to eat normal food.

Important! When adding natural products to the feed, it is desirable that at first they do not differ too much in texture and size from dry food.

Thus, weaning a cat from food and accustoming it to homemade food is a long and difficult process, since feed additives are addictive. However, this is quite possible if the owner adheres to the exact recommendations, not making mistakes when changing the cat's diet.

The video talks about the dangers of dry cat food:

Many owners decide to wean their cat off dry food. The motivation is different - food has become more expensive or the financial situation in the family has become more complicated, there is time for cooking, the animal needs a special diet, and so on. But here's the bad luck, the tailed one arranges a boycott and does not eat delicious natural food. He does not eat for a day, does not eat for two, three, and the owner panics. How often do pet store owners hear from pet owners: “I buy food“ N ”, I know that such food is harmful, but he doesn’t eat anything else, I tried to accustom him to normal food, he almost died of hunger ... ". Do you have a similar situation? We will help you solve your problem!

Remember! Feeding poor-quality dry food is an extreme case, justified by specific circumstances (travel, relocation, etc.). Eating such a product on an ongoing basis will literally kill the animal in the prime of life - the cat is guaranteed to face allergies and problems with the genitourinary system.

As practice shows, the main number of failures is due to the fact that the owner does not understand the essence of his actions, tactics are built intuitively. After all, our cats do not think the way we do, and they do not always understand what exactly we have in mind. To succeed means to act according to the plan, step by step and gradually. It is not difficult in practice, but requires theoretical knowledge. So, the general rules formulated on the basis of common mistakes:

Do not hurry- a sharp change in diet will not only lead to a boycott, but is also guaranteed to harm health. The transition to natural nutrition is carried out gradually, within 5-10 days.

Don't give in to provocations- hunger strike and the requirement of dry food, these are real manipulations that you must stop or ignore.

No animal has yet starved to death near a full bowl.- if a cat has access to water, she can live hungry for up to 10 days! Cases have been recorded when frightened animals did not leave the shelter for up to 15 days and survived without food and water! Naturally, the tailed ones crawled out of the shelter exhausted and needed help, but they came out alive and on their fours.

Don't indulge- pitying the pet, the owner begins to replace dry food with delicacies, almost chewing food for the pet. Not worth it! You are not ready to indulge a cat for the rest of her life? And having accustomed to the “royal attitude” and abruptly changing it, you will really offend the pet.

Be aware of supplement addiction Do you know why people drink carbonated drinks, realizing their harmfulness? The multi-colored drug contains food additives that (as established by studies) cause addiction. With cats, the situation is similar, cheap food is generously flavored with nutritional supplements that the pet gets used to. When trying to wean a cat off cat food, most owners face problems precisely because of the development of the animal's physiological dependence. After the bright taste of “drying”, even selected beef seems insipid to the pet, this is a temporary phenomenon, taste buds are quickly restored.

Methods for weaning a cat from industrial feed

You can go the "cheap and cheerful" way or stop at the loyal way, you choose. Many owners take a short cut and then, biting themselves for bullying animals, they again run to the store for “drying”. The method is simple - to starve the animal, offering him the allowed food until he is hungry and agrees to accept it.

Even if you have chosen the express method, the replacement of feed with natural food should be done gradually (by mixing).

Important! Do not fold at the decisive moment - the "screams" of the cat, family members and remorse should turn into "white noise". Keep an eye on the household (this is quite serious), protecting your pet from you "sadist", relatives can secretly feed the cat with their favorite food. Wait, be friendly to the pet, but persistent in intentions, cats are far from stupid and know what weak points to put pressure on.

Not sure if you can stand the torture from your family or pet? There is also a more loyal method, which will take more time, but is guaranteed to end in success. We will consider a method that will help to transfer even the most fastidious, adult and “addicted” animals to homemade food:

Stop the influence of nutritional supplements- before weaning a cat from dry food, it must be freed from dependence. This is the first, slightly illogical (at first glance) and rather costly stage. You need to get a good, everyday dry food without a sharp taste and smell. How to determine what taste the food? Try it yourself and compare, there is no other way. For 5 days, mix quality food with the usual, gradually replacing the second product with the first. By day 6, the cat should be eating food without a strong taste. You can take a break, but not for long, because we are not going to accustom the pet to more expensive food.

To accustom a cat to wet food - the contrast of meat porridge and hard granules is obvious. For a kitten who has never tried anything other than “drying”, even the most delicious porridge will seem inedible even in appearance. Start mixing the pellets with the sachets. Gradually (again in 4-5 days) completely replace drying with wet food. There should be no problems, since almost all cats are happy to eat soft industrial products. There is only one nuance - the food with gravy must also be of high quality, otherwise you will again "put the pet" on nutritional supplements.

The last step towards getting used to homemade food– continue to feed your cat wet commercial food mixed with natural products. At first, only chopped boiled meat, after vegetables and, last but not least, cereals. The full transition period can take up to 15 days. At the final stage, add only industrial feed gravy to natural food.

In the article I will describe in detail how to wean a cat from dry food and accustom it to normal natural food. Let me tell you what the difficulty is. I will explain to pet owners what actions to take if the animal eats exclusively dry food and nothing else. I will describe the common mistakes owners make when changing the type of diet.

Consider the popular ways to change the type of food for an animal:

the transition to natural food must be gradual. Try mix certain ingredients to dry. In the beginning, there should be a small number of them. If the cat accepts your conditions, it is recommended to increase the proportion of natural food over time until you completely give up dry food. It is better to start with finely chopped pieces of boiled beef. It is healthy and tasty;
if a pet has preferences from natural products, it is worth focusing on them. Recommended gradually increase the dose food of natural origin, until you completely replace artificial food;
if the owner does not know the preferences of the pet, you need to try out the most common treats of other cats. Them spread in front of the animal in various bowls. This way you make it clear to your pet that he has a choice. So it is worth doing until he decides. Then they act, as mentioned earlier, gradually increase the portion of natural food;
you can try to feed the cat in two different bowls. And in one it will be dry, and in the other natural. In the first container you need to pour a portion less than in the second. The animal, not having eaten, will have to eat up healthy food. There will be no other way out;
the most radical and harsh way is simply stop feeding your cat dry food. Every animal has an instinct for self-preservation, so it will have to agree to your terms. But these are extreme measures, it is better to try other options, softer ones.

Why is it so difficult to transfer cats to normal homemade food

Includes special components:

attractants;
additives.

It is they that cause the pet to become addicted to purchased food and become the biggest obstacle to the transition to natural products.

A large concentration of such substances in super-economy class feed.

This applies to kitiket and whiskas, which are especially popular among cat owners.

By purchasing such food for your pet, you make him a kind of drug addict. The animal becomes addicted. The more he eats such food, the more difficult it will be to wean him from it.

In addition, manufacturers of artificial nutrition for animals, using such components, are trying to hide the lack of healthy natural substances in food.

This food is not just useless for the animal. It can cause the development of various diseases of the digestive system, including mental disorders. Especially if the owner is trying to wean the cat from the usual treats.

What to do if the cat only eats dry food

Opinions about the quality of dry food among veterinarians differ. Most of them claim that only a cheap product is of poor quality. Extra class food is balanced and the price corresponds to the quality. The food is complete in terms of the presence of nutrients.

It is quite another matter when the animal's health problems begin. And the veterinarian insists on changing the type of food, indicating the reason for everything is an artificial surrogate. In this case, you need to minimize the intake of such food so as not to harm the animal even more.

Common mistakes owners make when changing the type of diet

When changing the type of diet, pet owners often make similar mistakes:

Haste won't help. Wean your pet off dried food gradually. This process may take up to ten days. If you act radically, you can stumble upon a boycott from the animal;
Down with provocations. You should not be manipulated by a pet. He can go on a hunger strike and show his character. Give him that opportunity;
If you have definitely decided to get rid of the dependence of dry food gotta go all the way. Pour the cat to eat natural food, change it to fresh and watch the reaction. A healthy cat may not eat for ten days. The main thing is that there is enough water. Although in practice there were cases when a cat hid in a shelter, sabotaging food, for 15 days. During this time he neither ate nor drank. Then he got out, naturally emaciated, but alive;
It has already been said earlier that special additives are present in dry food that make a drug addict out of a cat. They cause the cat's physiological dependence on such food. In the future, boiled beef will seem tasteless and insipid to the cat, when compared with the rich taste of dry lumps.

If you do everything right and insist on your own, the taste buds of the animal will recover over time, and the pet will understand how tasty and fragrant natural food is.

Artificially created foods are mostly free from nutrients and vitamins. They are addictive and can even cause pathologies in the animal's body. The process of getting rid of dry food can be delayed. But in any case, it is worth holding if you want the best for your pet.

Today, more and more cat owners are looking for a way to wean a cat off dry food. Not surprisingly, there are more and more reports that ready-made mixtures cause various diseases. And the fact that animals, having tried dry food once, subsequently refuse natural food, cannot but be alarming - thanks to special additives, manufacturers literally put cats on an unhealthy diet.

In fact, cats have lived next to humans for thousands of years, have never heard of dry food and feel great. Let's try to figure it out, wean the cat from dry food and how to replace artificial food without much hassle.

We prepare the diet

Fish or meat - 45%;
Animal proteins - 20%;
Vegetables and cereals - 20%;
Offal - 10%;
Minerals and vitamins - 5%.

Of course, dry food made from various waste and chemical additives does not contain all this. And more expensive canned food will only become an ineffective substitute for a full-fledged feed. How to make a suitable diet, in which it was easy to wean a pet from purchased food, so that he lived for many years, looked and felt great? Everything is very simple here - try to feed the cat with natural food.

Everything is clear with meat and fish - a cat, as a predator, needs these products. Feeding a pet real meat is not a cheap pleasure. Therefore, it is better to use fish - sea or river, which is easier for you to get.

With animal proteins, everything is also quite simple - what kind of cat will refuse a cup of milk? It is not necessary to wean him off dry food so that he can eat milk, cream or even yogurt. Some owners give pets and raw eggs. But there is an opinion that it strikes the liver of animals. Therefore, if raw chicken eggs are included in the diet, then this should be done as rarely as possible.

There will also be no problems with vegetables and cereals - when you cook fish, you can throw some rice, carrots and potatoes into the broth. Healthy cats eat the resulting thick "ear" with great pleasure, receiving all the necessary trace elements.

There are no problems with by-products either. Once or twice a week, give the cat not fish soup, but liver soup. To do this, replace the fish with chicken liver or finely chopped beef, pork. Already from something, but even the most picky and spoiled cat will not refuse a boiled liver. Therefore, it can be used to wean a cat off cat food.

Vitamins can be added to ready-made and already cooled food. A few drops of drugs purchased at the veterinary pharmacy will be mixed in the broth and will provide the cat with everything necessary.

It will not be superfluous to grow special cat grass on the windowsill - the seeds are sold in veterinary pharmacies. And if it is possible to let the cat go for a walk in the summer, then she herself will solve the problem by finding and eating the right plants in the country.

How to change the diet?

Transferring the animal from the usual diet to a completely new one should be extremely careful. Even a simple change of food is already stressful for a cat. And here she has to overcome a real addiction. Maybe, of course, the rumors about the use of special addictive substances contained in dry food are just rumors. But in practice, animals accustomed to such a diet often refuse fresh fish and meat - and this is already an alarming signal. So, how to wean a cat to eat food?

It’s worth remembering right away - you need to accustom them to new food gradually. This usually takes about three weeks. At this time, the diet should be something like this:

The first week - 75% dry food, 25% natural.
Second week - 50% dry food, 50% natural.
Third week - 25% dry food, 75% natural.
Fourth week and beyond - 100% natural food.

Let's see how it works

Leave two bowls with different food in the usual feeding place - dry and homemade. Knowing the usual amount of food she eats, you can gradually wean the cat from "drying". Eating less food than usual, the first days the cat will be strengthened. But by the end of the first week, she usually dares and tastes natural food.

In the second week, success is consolidated- half of the usual food accounts for half of the new, tastier, healthier, but unusual. 50% of the usual rate is clearly not enough for a cat - even those who refused homemade food for the first week are forced to eat it too. The stomach reacts to a change in diet, enzymes are produced that allow you to fully digest and assimilate new substances. Sometimes such a change is accompanied by indigestion and diarrhea - do not worry, this is a necessary step, showing that the change in the cat's diet is going well.

The third week is very important. The cat has not yet been fully weaned from store food. He eats homemade meals confidently and with pleasure, but to avoid stress, a small part of the dry food should be left. Often, animals first empty the bowl with it, only after that proceeding to the food prepared by the owners.

In the fourth week, you can completely abandon the advertised purchased food. and calmly feed your pet with really healthy, tasty food containing all the necessary minerals and medicines.

Of course, later it is better not to give the cat wet food and dry food bought in the store. Why? Because she can again refuse her usual food, demanding one that is flavored with flavor enhancers, flavorings and other harmful substances.

Avoiding a problem is easier than solving it

In order not to puzzle yourself later and not to injure your beloved cat, trying to wean it from harmful food, it is better to feed it with normal food from childhood.

Of course, preparing a full-fledged soup, in which proteins, fats, trace elements and vitamins are balanced, is much more difficult than buying a bag of food. But in this case, there will be no stress for the animal, and its life span will increase significantly, and well-being will improve.

Many cat owners ask the question - why can't they immediately switch to regular food, without switching? It's simple - it's not just the stress of the animal. His body needs to be weaned gradually. At first, the stomach, accustomed to eating dry food, will not be able to fully break down and absorb complex carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Therefore, the cat will suffer from diarrhea, lose weight, get sick, without getting the necessary calories. With a gradual transition, this will also be observed, but on a much smaller scale. So, if you love your cat, then it is definitely worth working on it.

Complete nutrition of a cat is the key to its health and beautiful appearance. Surely, all owners know that budget ready-made food from supermarkets is not the best solution for a furry friend. Why is there a need to wean the pussy? Someone takes a kitten who is already accustomed to ready-made food, others save at first, but after visiting clinics they decide to change their diet, and many veterinarians directly advise them to think about normal food for the animal.

Disadvantages of ready-made food, why it is better to transfer the cat to normal food

Before thinking about how to wean a cat from Whiskas and accustom it to normal food, owners must understand what disadvantages the finished product from the store has:

The quality of most products leaves much to be desired, even more expensive premium foods are far from ideal, let alone budget products.
The stomach of a pussy with such feeding loses its ability to stretch, as a result, the transfer to natural nutrition becomes impossible.
In most feeds, stimulating additives are introduced. The cat eats and eats, but does not fill up, it is attracted only by the smell, not saturation.
Ready meals are granules, jellies, purees and stews. The load on the teeth in such a situation is minimal, which leads to plaque, tartar and other diseases.
Buying good food is not affordable, but feel free to add the cost of treatment to inexpensive goods, because problems with the kidneys, stomach, and intestines are inevitable.
The animal is forced to eat the same food. On the one hand, you buy different products: with turkey, chicken, trout, shrimp, etc. In fact, they have the same composition, like smell and taste. Just look into the pack - you will not find the differences.

It is for these reasons that you should transfer the cat to a normal diet: you will save him from problems in the future, provide a healthy and carefree life. Of course, this is not so easy to do, and in the future you will have to correctly compose a diet, but if the costs of super premium class and holistics seem unbearable to you, switch to a natural diet.

How to wean a cat off food without the help of a veterinarian

Any veterinarian will tell you how important it is to wean your cat off kitiket. And that this is a matter of health, not economy. If we compare whiskas or kitiket with human food, then in fact it is a cheburek from the doorway. You can eat fast food and crackers for a long time without consequences. Hardly. The same goes for cats.

The main problem of cheap feed is too much cereal.

They overload the work of the intestines, too much stool is formed. And at the same time, the minimum amount of substances of animal origin. Most often, this is bone meal from expired products, in which there is practically no meat. And another "magic" list of synthetic substances. Moreover, a couple of them cause a semblance of drug addiction in a cat.

The first victims of cheap food are the organs of the genitourinary system. That's why it's so important to know how to wean your cat off the catket. After all, castrated predators have a particularly hard time because of the body's need to remove harmful substances from cheap food. Hence the appearance of urolithiasis, narrowing of the ducts up to necrosis of the penis. In cats, the disease can develop not so hurricaneously, but with deadly consequences.

The next victims of cheap feed are the liver and intestines. The scarcity of animal protein in the diet causes a weakening of metabolism. The liver has to work doubly actively to remove harmful substances. Weakened immunity, which is caused by an overloaded intestine, may not save you from contracting any infectious disease.

In addition to Kitiket and Whiskas, the first places in our anti-rating can be claimed by:

cat chow and happy cat;
feed produced by hypermarkets;
Friskies and All cats;
Gheda and Dr. Clauder;
Terra cat and Our brand;
Pet time and 5 stars;
Kis-kis and Puffins;
Chicopee, ME-O and Pettine.

But you can understand without a veterinarian how to wean a cat from food. You just need to know what kind of food, except for whiskey and kitiket, cannot be categorically transferred. These are the names from the anti-rating and mixed meals. During retraining, you can not give both food and natural food. This will do even more damage.

Stages of transferring an animal to normal food

To accustom a cat to normal food, you must follow certain instructions:

Dry food is replaced with a wet analogue of the same manufacturer. The animal is accustomed to certain flavors, so the transition will not be abrupt. At the same time, in the soft version of the feed, there are fewer harmful components than in the dry one.
Natural food is introduced into the cat's diet gradually. You can cook mixed cereals - semolina or hercules plus meat / fish. The pet will not refuse such homemade food.
Fresh water must be freely available to the animal. Drinking plenty of water will allow you to quickly remove toxins from the body.
"Cat grass" grown on the windowsill will be an additional source of vitamins.
Gradually, more and more natural products that the cat prefers are added. For example, if he loves boiled fish, then instead of food they give it to him.
The amount of food is decreasing every day. Not satiated, the cat will start eating from a nearby bowl, where it is necessary to put healthy foods in a timely manner.

Such a plan of action allows the owners to gradually and without harm to the health of the animal transfer the pet from dry food to regular food, completely weaning off Whiskas and removing the addiction.

Features of the transition to natural products

To facilitate the transition of the animal to natural food and wean it from Whiskas, it is necessary to include a complex of vitamins for the pet in the diet. Usually cats eat vitamins in the form of tablets with pleasure. In rare cases, a veterinarian may prescribe fortified formulations in the form of intramuscular injections.

It is worth considering the features of the transfer of an adult cat or kitten to normal food:

A small kitten cannot be weaned from the usual food by fasting. First you need to transfer the pet to liquid food from bags, and then introduce other components into the diet. It is best to add new foods instead of the usual food after active play with the pet.
An adult animal with a strong dependence on dry food can be left to fast for two days. The main thing is not to forget to give water to your pet all the time. Very hungry, the animal on the instinct of self-preservation will eat a natural product with pleasure.

When switching to healthy food, we must not forget about the prohibition of mixing. Simultaneous intake of dry food and boiled meat or other product will lead to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in a pet.

Cat behavior when changing diets

When switching from dry food to natural products, it is worth remembering the pet's self-preservation instinct. The animal will not starve itself to death if there is any food in the bowl, so you should not succumb to provocations and return harmful delicacies to the diet.

It is worth contacting a veterinarian to make a healthy diet for your pet. The doctor will prescribe tests and, based on them, will announce which products are preferable for the cat.

When switching to normal food from dry food, there are a few recommendations to follow:

you can not succumb to the whims of the animal and return a harmful delicacy;
you can stroke and caress the pet after he has eaten normal food;
You need to give your pet plenty of water.

Following these simple tips will help you cope with the transfer of a cat to regular food. If in the process of accustoming to a new food your pet's health deteriorates sharply, you should contact your veterinarian. The doctor will determine the cause of the disease and prescribe treatment.